Day Eight: Glacier National Park
Invigorated by the natural wonder of Yellowstone, we decided to press on through the night in order to arrive at Glacier National Park by morning.
We arrived shortly before a bleary eyed but friendly park ranger and waited to be admitted until she could “get her papers in order” (e.g., have a cup of coffee). Our first scenic stop was Running Eagle Falls.
Having read that hikers should make noise while traveling in order to avoid surprising bears along the way, we sang a rousing version of “God’s Gonna Set This World on Fire,” a spiritual arranged by Moses Hogan. No bears were surprised.
In the afternoon, we began ascending Going-To-The-Sun Road, which loops its way high into the mountains through the center of the park. The road was closed a few hundred feet above the snow line, as spring plowing was still underway. Keep in mind, gentle reader, that it is the middle of June. With images of feisty Mennonites resonating in our memory, we had a rousing snowball fight at Logan Pass, using a fraction of the eight feet of snow. We are, in this case, lucky that none of us can hit the broad side of a barn, as we escaped less wet and dirty than we otherwise might have. Leaving the violent snow-conflict behind and following the spirit of the park’s messages of peace, Andy befriended a squirrel:
Since the road was closed, we had to turn around and go back down. On the way, we met more of the park’s natives:
We saw the above black bear on the way out of the park in the afternoon. Now you may look at the picture and exclaim, "that bear is not black!" You are correct in the chromatic sense, but in the zoological sense it is indeed a black bear. We learned from several educational National Park signs and pamphlets that the black bear can come in several different colors due to genetic variation.
Anyway, the bear was getting a little too close to the road, in the opinion of the National Park Service. Two rangers with rifles, who had been summoned to the area, therefore began to yell at and shoot the bear. Don’t worry! They only used rubber bullets and flash-bang rounds. The bear proceeded to run across the road, away from his attackers. He then stopped and turned back, seemingly offering a “WTF” to the onlookers. He must be thinking, “Hey! I’m a bear! I'm just doing my job! Seriously, I was just going down to the lake to grab a bite to eat, and you guys come and give me all kinds of trouble. What do you want from me?”
Our journey out of the park will be detailed next.
We arrived shortly before a bleary eyed but friendly park ranger and waited to be admitted until she could “get her papers in order” (e.g., have a cup of coffee). Our first scenic stop was Running Eagle Falls.
Having read that hikers should make noise while traveling in order to avoid surprising bears along the way, we sang a rousing version of “God’s Gonna Set This World on Fire,” a spiritual arranged by Moses Hogan. No bears were surprised.In the afternoon, we began ascending Going-To-The-Sun Road, which loops its way high into the mountains through the center of the park. The road was closed a few hundred feet above the snow line, as spring plowing was still underway. Keep in mind, gentle reader, that it is the middle of June. With images of feisty Mennonites resonating in our memory, we had a rousing snowball fight at Logan Pass, using a fraction of the eight feet of snow. We are, in this case, lucky that none of us can hit the broad side of a barn, as we escaped less wet and dirty than we otherwise might have. Leaving the violent snow-conflict behind and following the spirit of the park’s messages of peace, Andy befriended a squirrel:
Since the road was closed, we had to turn around and go back down. On the way, we met more of the park’s natives:
We saw the above black bear on the way out of the park in the afternoon. Now you may look at the picture and exclaim, "that bear is not black!" You are correct in the chromatic sense, but in the zoological sense it is indeed a black bear. We learned from several educational National Park signs and pamphlets that the black bear can come in several different colors due to genetic variation.
Anyway, the bear was getting a little too close to the road, in the opinion of the National Park Service. Two rangers with rifles, who had been summoned to the area, therefore began to yell at and shoot the bear. Don’t worry! They only used rubber bullets and flash-bang rounds. The bear proceeded to run across the road, away from his attackers. He then stopped and turned back, seemingly offering a “WTF” to the onlookers. He must be thinking, “Hey! I’m a bear! I'm just doing my job! Seriously, I was just going down to the lake to grab a bite to eat, and you guys come and give me all kinds of trouble. What do you want from me?”Our journey out of the park will be detailed next.
posted by The Odyssey Gentlemen at 11:58 PM
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